Amy Jo (Phillips) Zimmerman

Amy Jo (Phillips) Zimmerman, 61, of Palestine, IL, died November 18, 2021, in the comfort of her home. She was born June 24, 1960, in Greensburg, IN, the daughter of Thomas "Tom" & Shirley "Minnie" (Toliver) Phillips. She grew up in the Greensburg area, where she would spend countless hours alongside her best friend, her Grandpa Phillips. They were two peas in a pod until his passing when she was still a young girl. By the time she turned 18, she had moved down to Florida and would spend the next couple of years sailing the gulf. She held a deep affection for open waters, so this was a particularly enriching time of her life. Eventually, the time came to settle down, and so she moved back to the Greensburg area to raise her daughter, Joni, who she had named after folk icon Joni Mitchell. It was apparent that Amy was passionate about music and was particularly moved by artists such as Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Carole King. She was also quite the musician herself and could beautifully render songs like Beethoven's "Für Elise" on the piano. Her creativity overflowed into other mediums as well, namely floral arrangements. She took her mother-in-law's doll shop in Greensburg and transformed it into "Amy Jo's Flowers & Dolls". This was a particularly fruitful period of time in her life and a very satisfying one at that. No matter what she had her hand in, she always did her best to make her life a productive one. She held herself to high standards and expected the best out of others as well. This expectation tended to lead to tension, seeing as how this spicy soul was, let's say, "controversial." In short, you didn't have to guess what Amy thought...she'd tell you! That being said, she was loyal to a fault and never gave up on love, though she was hurt time and time again. However, no love was deeper than the love she gave to her family, particularly her daughter and beloved grandbabies. They each brought life to her living and live on as this precious woman's legacy. She married Denzil "Sonny" Zimmerman on June 23, 2018, and he survives. She is also survived by her daughter & son-in-law, Joni & Celso Cabauatan (Las Vegas, NV); by her precious grandbabies, Desmond Thomas and Duncan Emmett; by her brother, Tommy Phillips (Midland, IN); and by her nephews, Michael Phillips and Joe Phillips. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her sister, Sonja Rutherford. Family and friends are invited to gather and remember Amy from 2:00-4:00 p.m. (CST) on Friday, November 26th, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Palestine. In honor of her love of animals, memorials may be made to the "Crawford County Humane Society", with envelopes available at the funeral home.